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Argument: Risks of mission to Mars are better assumed by robots

Issue Report: Manned mission to Mars

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Jazz Shaw. “Robots Should Go Where Man Hesitates.” Pajamas Media. July 20, 2009: “When the Mars Polar Lander entered the Martian atmosphere in 1999, it immediately fell silent and was never heard from again. It is now believed that it crashed into the wall of a canyon, smashing on the rocks far below. It was a terrible loss in terms of technology and discovery, disappointing many, but imagine our reaction if that had been a landing craft with five astronauts on board. Some risks are still best left to our machine surrogates.”